


Nothing ventured, nothing gained

by guety



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, it's mostly phichimetti, phichimetti being the best matchmakers and finding each other on the process, the victuuri is minor/side pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-11-29 03:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11432535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guety/pseuds/guety
Summary: (Alternative Universe)Phichit has a plan and Chris discovers that sometimes doing a good deed does bring happiness for oneself.





	Nothing ventured, nothing gained

**Author's Note:**

  * For [podsandpuppies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/podsandpuppies/gifts).



> Here's my assignment for the Rare ships on ice challenge! I really enjoyed writing Chris and Phichit, they're so much fun. I don't even know how I started shipping this rarepair but I've fallen hard and I don't want to get up.
> 
> So, invisibleauxyeux, you said you liked AUs, so here's one in which they're expats in Tokyo because I thought it would be cute. Hope you enjoy!

“Hi, can I treat you to something?”

Chris had heard that phrase directed at him thousands of times, which was no surprise. He was handsome, sexy, and knew how to conduct himself in a way that would let people know that he was single and ready to mingle. Usually, that kind of proposition happened in gay bars, though, not in a quiet cafe on a Sunday afternoon. Chris went there often, since the summer was terribly hot - it was his first time experiencing a Japanese summer and he couldn’t say he liked so far -  and the place had air conditioning, but it wasn't the kind of venue he frequented to find companionship for the night. In fact, he was wearing comfortable, not particularly fancy clothes, and had put (almost) no effort into looking good that morning. But it wasn't like he could just stop being attractive, so he guessed it wasn't that strange that someone had decided to ask him out even under the circumstances.

The one asking this time was a man younger than him, probably in his early twenties, kinda short, with a bright smile and shiny dark grey eyes. He wasn't really Chris’s type, but he was cute enough and hey, the worst that could happen would be finding out they didn't have any chemistry  - and at least he would get a free drink out of it. The boy had been brave enough to approach him, so why not give him a chance?

“Sure,” he replied, offering a seductive smile.

“Great!” the boy beamed, “What would you like?”

“An iced coffee would be great, thank you,” Chris requested, and watched him go to the counter. He was skinny, but his ass was round and perky, just perfect. Chris had had much worse suitors.

A short while later, the boy came back carrying a tray with two coffees and some sugar sachets. Chris put aside the book he’d been reading, making space for the drinks.

“So, I’m Phichit,” the boy introduced himself, taking the seat in front of Chris. “I forgot to ask you what size you wanted, so I went with medium. Hope that’s ok!” 

“Medium is fine, thanks,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink, “and I’m Chris.”

“Hi Chris. Do you come here often?” It was a really cliche line, but the way Phichit winked at him let Chris know that he was perfectly aware of that. Chris chuckled. That was fine, he liked guys who didn’t try too hard.

“I do, actually,” he leaned back on his seat, keeping eye contact. “I live nearby.”

“Oh, I live really close too! But I usually go to the Tully’s in front of the station. I like their royal milk tea, especially the one with cream and berries on top.” Phichit poured an entire sachet of sugar into his iced maple caffé latte.  “I like your accent, Chris, where are you from?” He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. 

“Switzerland,” Chris said. “Geneva to be more precise, although before moving to Tokyo I lived in Zurich for a long time,”

“So what are you doing here?” Phichit seemed genuinely interested in him, which was quite nice. Most people who invited him to a drink were only interested in his body --  two certain parts of it in particular.

“I work in the fashion industry,” he replied simply.

“Oh, are you a model?”

It wasn't the first time Chris had been asked that, but he still laughed good-naturedly. “Hah! No, I’m on the business side of it, the advertising and all that jazz. I got a job at a multinational company here.”

“So you make advertisements and stuff?” Phichit brushed the hair out of his forehead, his eyes never leaving Chris’s.

“Hmm,” he nodded. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m an exchange student and do part-time jobs.” Phichit stirred his coffee slowly, “I was supposed to be in Tokyo only for a few months but I really love it here, so I’ve been extending my stay. I should have graduated already, though. I’m from Thailand, by the way!”

“I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand,” Chris commented casually, leaning forward. “Is everyone there as cute as you?”

He was hoping to make Phichit blush, but the boy only gave him a sly smile. “Are all Swiss men such obvious flirts?”

Chris had to laugh at that. “Touche.”

“You definitely should go to Thailand though!” Phichit added, his smile now warm like a summer morning. “I’ll sound biased, but it’s the best place in the entire world.”

Chris returned the smile. “I’ll have to trust your judgment.”

There was a brief silence, during which they just looked at each other, smiling lightly. It wasn't entirely uncomfortable, and Chris didn't feel pressured to say something just to make conversation. At the very least, Phichit seemed like someone he could be friends with, which was an improvement from half of the guys who normally approached him. 

“There’s something I should tell you,” Phichit confessed out of nowhere. He looked almost bashful, which was promising but also confusing, considering how forward he had been up till now. 

“I’m all ears,” Chris prompted him.

“Truth is, I pass by this cafe almost every day and I’ve seen you a few times through the glass.” He paused for a second, so Chris nodded, inviting him to continue. “And I know you have a boyfriend, but I love your style and you seem so cool and I really wanted to talk to you just once.” He made a nervous gesture with his hand as if he was flustered. “But I don’t want to get between you two or anything!” Phichit looked at him,worrying his lip between his teeth. He was playing with one of the empty sugar sachets, his nervous gestures so exaggerated that Chris couldn’t help but wonder if he was just putting on an act.

Chris blinked slowly.

“I’m not sure where you got that from, but I do not have a boyfriend,” he explained, a bit taken aback.

“But you’re always here with the same guy,” Phichit retorted, frowning, “Tall, silver hair, very handsome?”

Chris indeed knew someone that went with that description, and as soon as he understood who Phichit was talking about, he couldn't contain his laughter.

“That’s just--” he started to explain, but he was cackling so hard that he was on the verge of pissing his pants. “He’s not--” he wheezed; there were actual tears in his eyes. 

“Victor is not my boyfriend,” Chris  stated as clearly as he could, taking a deep breath to contain his hysterical fit. Then he laughed all over again when he tried to imagine dating Victor Nikiforov. Yes, he was really hot and smart, and a really sweet guy once you got to know him but. He was  _ Victor _ . Victor, who devoured cheap and poorly written romance novels and probably believed that’s how romance is supposed to be; who forgot to eat when he was wrapped up in a project. He was such a workaholic that outside of his job he pretty much only talked to his dog, Chris, and the old lady who managed his apartment building. Yes, he did love Victor dearly, and considered the man one of his best friends, but he wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship with him, and the feeling was mutual. It would just never work. 

Phichit was giving him a studied look, frowning just slightly. He had very expressive eyebrows. “Really?” he inquired. “So you’re not dating anyone?”

“Nope,” Chris confirmed, sobering up a little.

“And your friend, is he single too?” Phichit asked, leaning forward.

“Victor? Yes, he is.”

Phichit’s face instantly lightened up. “Oh, that’s great!” he clapped excitedly. “Sorry, I kind of lied, I wasn’t actually trying to flirt with you or anything.”

“You weren’t?” Chris was disappointed to hear that - more than he would admit - but also intrigued. If Phichit wasn’t trying to ask him out, what has been all that for? 

“I didn’t mean to lead you on,” Phichit apologized, looking sincerely sorry.

“Don’t worry, my ego can take it,” Chris assured. He wasn’t lacking in the self-esteem department and besides, life would be boring if everything went as one anticipated. “Mind explaining what’s going on, though?”

“You see, my best friend has a massive crush on that handsome guy you hang out with,” Phichit revealed. At least that explained his interest in Victor's romantic life.

“And who’s that friend of yours?” Chris asked, entertained. 

“Oh, Yuuri’s great!” Phichit exclaimed, and the way his smile widened and his eyes shined told Chris how much he liked this Yuuri guy. “I met him at a language exchange when I first came here and he’s been helping me to learn Japanese ever since.”

“How come he knows Victor?”  It couldn’t be any of their workmates, they wouldn’t have mistaken Chris and Victor for a couple - everyone in their office knew that Victor was only married to his job - and it wasn’t like Victor frequented any social circles.

“Remember that huge storm a couple of weeks ago? Yuuri forgot his umbrella and his glasses were soaked so he couldn’t see shit and he was wandering aimlessly trying to find some shelter, a  _ conbini  _ or something like that, you know? Then your friend came with a bigass umbrella and walked him a few blocks, like in a movie!”

“Wait, is your friend Japanese? With black hair and blue glasses?” Chris had heard that exact same story before, but from a different point of view.

“Yes!” Phichit nodded enthusiastically.

“He’s the hoodie guy! Victor’s been talking about him on and on for the past two weeks.”

“He has?” Phichit leaned forward even more, all unadulterated enthusiasm.

“God, yes.” Chris rolled his eyes. “How he was so cute and lovely and he regrets not asking for his number. Victor doesn’t really do dates, so I guess your friend must have made a big impression.”

“Oh my gosh, this is great!” Phichit hit the table repeatedly. “Yuuri really liked your friend too but he’s a bit shy, so he didn’t even ask his name. And then a few days ago, we were passing by this cafe and we spotted you guys, and I told him he should go and talk to the handsome guy, but Yuuri was convinced you two were an item, so…”

“So you pretended to be interested in me to check whether Victor was available or not?” Chris asked, finally putting all the pieces together.

“Yep, you got it. Sorry about that,” Phichit admitted, in a voice that said he would do it again. “But since thankfully you’re not in a relationship with my friend’s crush, I could use your help to get them together.”

_ Well, _ Chris pondered,  _ Victor could really use some romance. _ They had been friends for almost ten years, and in all that time Victor had never seriously dated anyone. He just didn’t seem capable of staying interested for long, and the few dates he had gone on had always ended up in disappointment. Lately, it seemed like he had stopped trying entirely, but Chris knew that deep down Victor was still hoping to find The One -- the guy who would sweep him off his feet and ride with him into the sunset, all that jazz. He was a true romantic, after all. Maybe Phichit’s friend would be the love of Victor’s life or however he wanted to call it, and if so, it would be a shame if they never met again. After all, according to what Victor had told him, there had been some crazy chemistry between them, and Phichit here seemed to agree, so it was worth the try.

“Okay, I’m in,” He leaned closer to Phichit, a grin on his face. “What’s the plan?”

\-----------------------------------------------------------

“The plan” was to trick their friends into a double date. Incredibly uncomplicated, and it was working amazingly well so far.

First, convincing Victor had been stupidly easy. A simple  _ “hey Victor, there's this guy I like and we have a date on Friday, but he's shy and wants us to each bring a friend so it's more casual, do you mind coming? I’ll treat you, _ ” did the trick. He had just finished a project, so he had free time now and didn’t know what to do with it. He was pretty much begging Chris to get him out of the house. According to what Phichit had been telling him on the phone, convincing Yuuri had been a bit harder, but he had eventually accepted to come. And what was even more amazing was that he had stayed even when he realized that Phichit had obviously played him within the first 20 seconds; the way Victor had been so genuinely happy to see him again probably seemed to convince him.

Chris wasn't sure whether Victor had realised something was up, or if he thought it was just a happy coincidence, but it didn't seem to matter to him either way. He was being hilariously obvious with his attempts to flirt with Yuuri, with casual touches and compliments abound that miraculously didn’t throw Yuuri off. In fact, Yuuri seemed sincerely charmed, to the point that he’d apparently stopped caring that Phichit had set him up.

He could see why Victor was so infatuated. Yuuri was certainly handsome enough, with soft black hair and big brown eyes, and he was quiet and adorably clumsy, but Chris could see from his conversation that he was smart and had strong ambitions. And more importantly, he really seemed interested in getting to know Victor better, which was a good sign that the boy was worth pursuing.

All in all, he was quite optimistic about the relationship blossoming before his eyes and -- if the little kicks under the table and the constant winks and thumbs up were any indication -- so was Phichit.

Eventually, they finished their dinner and found themselves back on the street, walking slowly towards nowhere in particular. The four of them happened to live quite close to each other - in a quiet neighborhood with a big population of both expats and students; not in the centre of Tokyo but well connected - so for that night Phichit and Chris had chosen a restaurant located within walking distance of all their apartments.

“So, would you like to go for some drinks?” Phichit suggested cheerfully, as he and Chris had planned.

“Sure,” Chris replied.

“Ah, I actually should go home, sorry,” Yuuri apologised, just as Phichit had expected. “I have to get up early tomorrow,”

“I’ll walk you home!” Victor offered - like Chris had thought he would - a little too enthusiastically. Chris really was glad that Yuuri didn’t seem bothered by Victor’s exuberance; he would have hated if this ended up in another fiasco for his friend.

“No, you don’t have to bother,” Yuuri protested, as if he was sincerely worried about abusing Victor’s kindness.

“It’s not a bother at all,” Victor insisted., “Don’t we live in the same direction? You can walk  _ me _ home, if you prefer.”

Yuuri giggled softly. “Ok, then, I would love to walk together with you in the general direction of our houses.” He smiled and Chris could almost hear Victor’s heart skipping a beat.

“Fantastic.” He brushed Yuuri’s arm slightly, their eyes fixated on each other as if they had forgotten their friends were still there. Chris cleared his throat.

“Oh, um, is it ok if we leave first?” Yuuri asked, all politeness.

“Of course it’s fine!” Phichit assured, grabbing Chris’ arm. “We’ll be fine on our own, right, Chris?

“Yeah, you two go have fun.” Phichit not so discreetly nudged him in the ribs. “I mean, go rest,” he winked, making Yuuri blush a little while Victor just smiled at him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Chris!” Victor  said, and started walking towards the residential area.

“Text me when you get home!” Phichit exclaimed, waving his arm left and right excitedly. Yuuri waved back, a smile on his face, and followed Victor. After a few steps, they turned around the corner and Chris lost sight of them.

Phichit loosened the grip he had on Chris arm and took a step to the side. “Total success!” He jumped,  throwing his arms up in the air.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll have a wedding in a couple of years,” Chris agreed.

“Yeah, and we'll be there to give a speech on how our poor friends would have never found true love without us.” 

Chris smirked. “We need to settle for a second date before that, though.”

“Hmm?” Phichit looked at him, his expression twisted in a confused frown that looked pretty cute on him. “I don’t think they need us to set them up on another date, they probably have that covered already.”

“I know. I meant for us.” He took a step closer to Phichit. “You and me, alone.”

Phichit’s eyes widened. “You're asking me out?”

“Yes, thanks for noticing.”

“Why?” Phichit asked, and quickly backtracked, “I mean, I’m flattered, you're like a 9.7 out of 10.” He spoke without flustering or breaking eye contact, in the same way one would state that water is wet. Then, he frowned. “Though I did lie to you to help Yuuri with his crush.”

“You're a good friend,” he shrugged, “and there are worse flaws.”  _ And you’re a solid 9 yourself, at least.  _

Phichit’s laughter was as soft and musical as a bell. “I wasn't lying when I said I like your style,” he confessed.

“Yours is cute too,” Chris offered his most charming smile. “Actually, you’re pretty cute in general.”

Phichit gave him a naughty smile. “Thanks, I know.”

“So, about that date…” Chris prompted.

“I would love to, but there’s just one problem.” Phichit had stopped smiling for the first time in all night, and Chris’ heart dropped a bit. It just occurred to him that he hadn’t asked Phichit whether he was single or not.

“What problem?”

“Well see, you’ve asked me on a second date but tonight hardly counts as the first one, since our attention was so focused on our friends.” He was shifting his body weight from one leg to the other, in a motion that Chris wasn’t sure if he should catalogue as playful or nervous. “So, why don’t we remedy that first?” He winked, and all the tension that Chris hadn’t realized he was keeping inside suddenly dissipated.

He broke into a sudden laugh. “Don’t scare me like that, I thought you were going to tell me you already have a boyfriend,” he confessed.

“Sorry!” Phichit’s voice and smile said he wasn’t sorry at all, “I just wanted to tease you. I am in fact very single at the moment.”

“That’s a relief,”

“So, shall we go for that drink we mentioned early? I know a cheap karaoke place close by.”

Drinking at a cheap karaoke wasn’t what Chris would have chosen for a first date, but he had enjoyed all of Phichit ideas so far, so he would take a leap of faith here.

“Lead the way,” he offered his arm to Phichit, who took it, leaning against him. Chris had never dated someone so much shorter than him, and he found that he quite liked the way Phichit’s head fitted against his shoulder.

“Do you like musicals?” Phichit asked suddenly. “Because I’m not sure I can date you if you don’t.”

Chris laughed. “Is that where you draw the line? No guys that hate musicals?”

Phichit nodded. “I have a low tolerance for terrible taste in movies.”

“I love musicals,” Chris said honestly. “I’ve seen The King and the Skater at least 5 times.”

“Oh man, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship,” Phichit quoted, “or maybe something else…” He dragged his hand over the exposed skin of Chris' forearm; it was just a little brush of his fingers,  but Chris’ heart just jumped. 

_ Oh, fantastic. _ Chris didn’t like to brag, and he certainly didn’t keep track, but he was pretty sure the number of men he had slept with had risen to the three digits, and he wasn’t inexperienced in relationships either. It wasn’t that easy to make him swoon. And yet this boy had him completely screwed over already, before they had been had a proper date. Chris wasn't a romantic like Victor; he didn't believe in soulmates or fated encounters. Still, as he looked as Phichit's sunny smile, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe this was his one in a million chance, his almost-as-if-taken-out-of-a-movie encounter. The very fact that Chris was considering that could only mean one thing: Phichit meant danger. He had the potential to completely turn Chris' perfectly satisfying and ordained life upside down, and Chris was starting to become very aware of this. But well, he did enjoy some peril every now and then, otherwise, life would lack excitement. Some risks were worth taking, and he had the feeling that Phichit was one of them. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I really love and appreciate comments and critique of all kinds :)


End file.
